Chapter 445: Crusaders at a Crossroads

The misfortune befalling Eric was not over yet.

According to Eric’s agreement with Suleiman Shah, he was to gift the English Crusaders three castles neighboring Tripoli.

However, Eric soon discovered the castles were far from as valuable as Suleiman Shah had described.

It took Eric and his men two days to reach the first castle—Shazha Castle—only to find it guarded by fewer than ten men and surrounded by a small village of no more than twenty people. Though its position against a hill made it look sturdy and easily defensible, the castle was, in fact, useless.

Viewed with a malicious eye, one could almost call it an out-and-out trap. The castle’s water source was located outside its walls, and the source itself was quite distant. Once the water was cut off, the defenders would have no choice but to die of thirst or surrender.

This immediately ignited the fury of the Counts and Barons. They had no doubt they had been deceived.

Soon, a rumor spread through the ranks: Eric had been bought by the Pagan Lord of Antioch City.

Some Barons were utterly convinced, certain that Eric had committed apostasy. They threatened to travel to Cyprus and report him to Robert.

The Pope’s Envoy, Admar, remained silent on the matter, but many believed this silence was a form of support.

The Counts and Barons held a meeting to discuss the issue of command.

Despite feeling somewhat guilty, the Count of Pontieu sided with Count Evler. Eustace, the Count of Boulogne, and Stephen, the Count of Blois, both abstained.

The Count of Ghent had reportedly wanted to support Eric, but he arrived late, after the vote had already concluded. He explained to Eric that he had no idea such a meeting was being held and complained about the arrogance of the Normans and the rampant discrimination against the Germans in the camp.

Ultimately, the council passed Count Evler’s proposal. Command of the army was temporarily transferred to the Pope’s Envoy, Bishop Admar of Le Puy. This was a natural choice; since the Pope was the nominal leader of the entire expedition, it was indisputable that his envoy should lead the army.

But Bishop Admar had no army of his own. In reality, battlefield operations were still decided by a council of the Counts, and Eric was completely excluded from the decision-making process.

The Counts quickly decided to abandon the castles Eric had obtained for them from Suleiman Shah, and they had no intention of proceeding to the other two.

They planned to push straight south toward Jerusalem. Despite their complete ignorance of the situation there, this fanatical and absurd plan quickly won the approval of nearly all the Barons and Knights.

They were eager to plant their family banners in this land and exact their revenge on the Turkic People and the Saracens.

Eric refused to pay the price for such folly, nor would he allow his knights and soldiers to die in some long, drawn-out siege.

He tried to threaten them, warning that if they proceeded with this insane plan, the Pisan and Genoese fleets would offer no material support.

But the Counts and Barons were unfazed. They declared they had no intention of provoking the coastal Pagans, as their sole objective was Jerusalem. They planned to march through the inland mountains directly to their goal. They even mocked Eric, retorting that hiding and sneaking around was better than bowing and scraping before Pagans.

In the end, Eric gave up. He gave them twenty of the thirty cartloads of supplies from Suleiman Shah, keeping only ten for himself.

‘When it came to the supplies, they accepted without the slightest hesitation. It didn’t even occur to them that Eric, the man they accused of being ‘bought by Pagans,’ might have poisoned or tampered with them.’

They departed the castle quickly. Fortunately, the knights and soldiers under Eric’s command did not leave, choosing to stand with their Count. They firmly believed he would lead them to honor, wealth, and, of course, the favor of God. Their Count had never let them down.

Staying with him was Lagman with his two hundred warriors from the Isle of Man, and of course, Stephen, the Count of Blois.

Stephen had no interest in Jerusalem, and even less in war itself. He did, however, desperately want to leave his mark here. While the other Counts were debating whether Shazha Castle was a Pagan trap, he had already eagerly planted his family banner at the castle’s highest point.

Incidentally, his personal painter was a Moor who had spent the last few days working on a portrait for him titled, *Earl Stephen Conquers the Shaza Kingdom*. However, no matter how Eric looked at it, the painting resembled the Prophet’s Night Journey to the heavens.

Eric remained at Shazha Castle for nearly a week. He directed his soldiers to build a simple fort at the water source, erect four surrounding watchtowers to protect it, and ordered men to begin digging a cistern within the castle walls.

These were merely supplementary measures, however, should they face a siege.

At best, this castle could serve as an outpost, not a main garrison.

Therefore, Eric had to pin his hopes on the two remaining castles: Mara Castle and Hama Castle.

Mara Castle was to the north, very close to Aleppo. Suleiman Shah was currently negotiating a peace treaty with the Bey of Aleppo, and the castle did not align with Eric’s current strategic goals.

The Bey of Aleppo, like many Turkic Warlords, was constantly trying to break free from the control of the Seljuk Empire. In fact, Tutush had been dispatched by Malikshah precisely to deal with these warlords running rampant in the Levant. Once the Fatimid invasion was dealt with, it would be the end for this group of Levantine Turkic Warlords.

After all, Aleppo was a crucial gateway for the Seljuk Empire’s armies to enter Syria and must be controlled by someone trustworthy. Thus, it was almost certain that Tutush would soon march north to attack Aleppo.

Eric’s next strategic target was Tutush to the south. If he played his cards right, the Bey of Aleppo could become a potential ally.

Therefore, Eric had no reason to provoke the Bey of Aleppo at present. He chose instead to head for Hama, a castle located farther south, more inland, and closer to Damascus.

‘If the Crusaders want to establish a firm foothold in the Levant, Damascus is actually a far more suitable prize than Jerusalem.’

Eric planned to wait at Hama Castle and look for an opportunity to take Damascus.

On the way to Hama Castle, Eric took some time to finally mess with his system again, mainly spending points to unlock Attribute Skills appropriate for his level.

Eric hadn’t learned many Attribute Skills before, as he had primarily used his Skill Points to expand the size of his personal inventory.

[Celestial Salvation System]

[Name: Eric Outville]

[Status: Normal]

[Identity: Second Son of Robert Outville, Junior Priest of the Lucifer Servant Society, Earl of Gloucester, Guardian of the Borders of the England Kingdom.]

[Titles: ‘The Spider of Normandy’, ‘The Deliberate One’]

Personal Attributes:

[Strength Level: 12]

[Agility Level: 11]

[Intelligence Level: 14]

[Physical Strength Level: 13]

[Oratory Level: 13]

[Charm: 11]

Combat Attributes:

[Combat Level: 10]

[Defense Level: 14]

[Sword Fighting Level: 12]

[Archery Level: 2]

[Axe Fighting Level: 8]

[Nail Head Hammer Level: 11]

[Lock Picking Level: 18]

[Pickpocketing Level: 19]

[Stealth Level: 18]

[Beast Taming Level: 2]

[Alchemy Level: 9]

[Riding Skill Level: 7]

(Average for a common person is 7.)

[Reputation: Widely Known (329/2000) Daily / +3.8]

[Devotion: Respectful and Dutiful (33/500) Daily / +0.4]

[Money: 5.3k Groschen]

[Exchange Points: 1111]

Skills:

[Eye of Reconnaissance: Broadens reconnaissance vision, allowing earlier notice of events ahead. +20% chance of escape.]

[First Aid: Bandage effect +20%. Can use bandages anytime, anywhere.]

[Stealth Expert: When using Stealth, Stealth Level +2, Power and Oratory Level -1 each.]

[Common Folk: When in villages and towns, Power, Agility, Physical Strength, and Oratory each +1.]

[Brawling Master: Increases the probability of defeating an opponent in hand-to-hand combat by 40%.]

[Minstrel: When talking to women, Reputation +50% and Oratory +1. Easily persuade them and enjoy the services of bathhouse girls for free.]

[Silent Lock Picking: Pick locks without making any sound.]

[Master Thief: Automatically opens simple locks.]

[Fast Horse: Increases horse speed by 30%.]

[Storm Knight: Difficult to control one’s mount in a storm. In all other weather, the mount is extremely docile.]

Over the past few days, Eric had spent all the Skill Points he could, mainly on the following four Skills:

[Unremarkable Face]: When wanted, people will have a harder time recognizing you, and the duration of manhunts will be shortened.

[Imposing Aura: After committing a crime, Power and Vitality each +1 until caught or you leave the area.]

[Bloodletter]: Increases the chance of making an enemy bleed by 30%.

[Thick Blood]: Blood loss is slowed.